1.  You need to fill in the Online portal (https://fuberlin.moveon4.de/form/60acfece5d328710e40bdbd5/eng) and upload the following documents there:
   
2.  Curriculum vitae (CV / Resume)
3.  Letter of Motivation
4. Abstract of your Master Thesis in English
5. University Degrees, each with: degree certificate (学位证), graduation certificate (毕业证), academic record (成绩单).
   Please note: Authorized (由学校出具) English translations of Chinese documents are sufficient for this application. Notarization (公证) of the translations will only be required at a later stage.Candidates for full PhD studies: If the Master studies have not been finished by the time of application to FUB, a statement certifying when the Master Diploma will be obtained is sufficient.Sandwich candidates: an admission certificate to PhD-studies in China6.       
6. Scientific Statement (or research proposal) related to the offered research project and your own academic background and experiences. It is focused on the respective PhD offer (2-3 pages), and includes a time schedule for the research stay in Berlin
7. One to Two Letters of Recommendation by university professors with letter head, seal of the institute and signature of the professor.
   • For Full-time PhD studies: One of the letters has to be issued by the supervisor of the Master’s thesis
   • For Sandwich candidates: One of the letters has to be issued by the PhD supervisor.

 8. Language Certificates

• English: IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 95
• German: TestDaF 16 (at least) or DSH-2 certificate

Please submit only pdf files. 

Your application documents have to be submitted through the online portal (https://fuberlin.moveon4.de/form/60acfece5d328710e40bdbd5/eng)

• You need to fill in the Online portal (https://fuberlin.moveon4.de/form/60acfece5d328710e40bdbd5/eng) and upload the following documents there:
• Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)
• Letter of Motivation
• Convincing statement (2-3 pages) about the research topic offered by the professor and related to your own academic background, focusing on the respective PhD offer, including a time schedule for the research stay in Berlin.
• One to Two letters of recommendation by university professors with the letter head, seal of the institue and the signature of the professor. One of the letters has to be issued by the PhD supervisor.
• University degrees, each with: degree certificate (学位证), graduation certificate (毕业证), academic record (成绩单) and admission certificate to PhD-studies in China. Note: Authorized (由学校出具) English translations of Chinese documents are sufficient for this application. Notarization (公证) of the translations will only be required at a later stage.
• Language certificates for English OR German (depending on the requirement of the open position you want to apply for):
  English
  
  • IELTS certificate with an overall rating of 6.5 (no module below 5.5) or
  • TOEFL iBT certificate with a total score of at least 95 points (no test section below 20 points)
  German
  
  • TestDaF certificate with a total score of at least 16 points – no subtest below 4 – or
  • DSH-2 certificate

Please submit only pdf files. 

Your application documents have to be submitted through the online portal (https://fuberlin.moveon4.de/form/60acfece5d328710e40bdbd5/eng)

1. Individual PhD studies

under the direct supervision of one professor who is an expert in a given research area ("Apprentice Model").

The PhD student could be described as research assistant who works independently in a certain field of research. At present, the majority of German and international doctoral students at Freie Universität Berlin follow this model. Generally speaking, any professor of Freie Universität can supervise PhD candidates.

The FUB-CSC PhD Program is for individually supervised PhD students on the projects of professors in a wide range of subject areas.

• Please check the list with individual PhD positions for application to the FUB-CSC Program 2025
• Application process and counselling are arranged by the FUB Division of International Affairs.

2. Structured PhD Programs

There are a variety of Graduate Schools (GS) and Research Training Groups (RTG) focusing on interdisciplinary research. PhD studies can be undertaken within structured training program.

• Some PhD programs are offered by Graduate Schools, jointly organized by Berlin universities (FU Berlin, TU Berlin, HU Berlin) i.e. Berlin Mathematical School.
• Questions should be directed and will be answered directly by the program coordinators in Berlin.

Please check the list of structured PhD programs at FUB.

The two possibilities correspond to two different ways of perfoming PhD studies. Please read the section on General Information About PhD Studies at Freie Universität Berlin for details.

NOTE: The doctoral degree/PhD degree awarded is the same for both types of doctoral studies!

It's not a problem to do your PhD studies in English, particuarly in Sciences. 

In certain areas, German ist required and helpful like in Philosphy or German Studies. It is mostly depending on the thesis’ subject and on the approval of the candidate’s supervisor. Please check the list with the offered PhD positions and see the required language skills. 

• Very good English skills if English is the language of instruction for PhD studies. No prior knowledge of German required in the following disciplines: Biology, Biomedicine, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Earth Sciences and Veterinary Medicine
  English Certificate: IELTS certificate with an overall rating of 6.5 points OR TOEFL certificate with a total score of 95 points 

• Very good German skills if German is the language of instruction for PhD studies. Usually in Humanities and Social Sciences but depending on the professors' requirements.
  German Certificat: TestDaF certificate with at least the grade 4 in all four parts and a total score of at least 16 points OR DSH-2 certificate.

No tuition fees for PhD studies and no agency fees will be charged! There are only around 270 EUR to pay per semester by each student, as an enrollment and semester contribution fee, but this will be including a free "Berlin public transportation ticket".

Application procedure (FUB-CSC PhD Program), Required Documents

The application and evaluation process for CSC candidates is coordinated by the International Office of Freie Universität Berlin. All inquiries concerning the FUB-CSC Program and open positions should be sent in the first process only to Dr. Benjamin Langer (not to the professor!) by e-mail to csc@international.fu-berlin.de

In order to become a PhD student at Freie Universität Berlin in the framework of the FUB-CSC PhD Program two applications are necessary:

1. Application to the offered PhD position to get an invitation letter,
    submitted to the International Office of FUB

• Apply to the International Office for one of the PhD positions offered by a professor of FUB.
  [Please note! Apply only for a research project if your academic background meets the description of the offer!]

• The application should be submitted ONLY  online through our online portal (https://fuberlin.moveon4.de/form/60acfece5d328710e40bdbd5/eng) 

• Application period for PhD Studies: December 2024 - January 2025

• The International Office will check and evaluate the application and forward ALL applications to the respective professor. The professor will contact the candidates who submitted a complete application. After interviewed by the professor who offered the position, the final decision about the acceptance is made by the professors of Freie Universität according to the academic qualification. We inform the applicants at the latest by the end of February about the decision.

     [Please note: Be patient and don’t contact the professor before the decision is made!]

• In case the professor accepts the PhD candidate, he/she contacts the PhD candidate to discuss the research proposal which is required for the second application process - the CSC application.

• Only Freie Universität Berlin can issue the invitation letter for the accepted PhD candidates in the framework of the FUB-CSC PhD Program. The invitation letter is a prerequisite for the application to a CSC scholarship and will be passed to the students by the FUB International Office at the end of February, 2025.

• All accepted PhD candidates who submitted their complete application to the FUB International Office and were accepted by a professor will be listed on the official nomination list of the FUB-CSC Program which will be handed to the CSC by the FUB International Office.

List of documents Freie Universität Berlin requires from applicants:

• Application Documents Required for Scholarship Scheme 1 (Full-Time PhD, degree from FUB)

• Application Documents Required for Scholarship Scheme 2 (Sandwich-Model, research stay, 1-2 years)

2. Application submitted to CSC (approx. 10 March – 31 March):

• This is a separate application process which is to be arranged by the CSC applicants. The application to the CSC is only handled by the CSC. In case you have questions concerning the CSC scholarship, please contact the CSC directly: www.csc.edu.cn 
• Apply to the CSC online ONLY through the program channel under the framework of the FUB-CSC Program (otherwise, you are not a member of the program and cannot profit by its benefits).
• The invitation letter issued by Freie Universität Berlin (see above, No. 1) is required for the scholarship application in the framework of the FUB-CSC PhD Program.
• For the exact application period of CSC scholarships (March 10 – March 31), please refer to the CSC homepage: http://www.csc.edu.cn/chuguo
• The results of the CSC will be announced at the beginning of June 2025.
• Successful scholarship holders start their research stay in Berlin in September/October 2025.

1) Do not delete the e-mail history of your correspondence with the International Office.

2) Make sure your application fits the project that you would like to apply for. Concentrate on the questions in the project  description. Do not try to "make a topic fit", that you would like to work on, but which has hardly anything to do with the  project as the professor describes it in the offer.

3) The letters of recommendation have to:

• be on official paper sheets of the respective university.
• have the professors' university adress at the top of the page.
• carry the professors' signature.

Forging a letter of recommendation leads to disqualification.

4) Make sure that your documents all together do not exceed the size of 5 MB.  

5) Send us your abstract of Master thesis in English.

6) The title of your Master thesis should be seen on your Curriculum Vitae.

7) If possible use a good readable e-mail address. 

8) Use your pronouns in the signature of your e-mail, so that it is easier to address you correctly.

Based on experience with Chinese students interested in the FUB – CSC PhD Program in previous years, we have composed a FAQ section. Please check it here.

If you did not find the information you are searching for in the FAQ section, you can contact the International Office of Freie Universität Berlin by e-mail: csc@international.fu-berlin.de

Please note: You shouldn’t contact the professor in the first phase of the application process. He/She will contact you end of January or beginning of February after having received your complete application via the FUB-Beijing Office.

The choice is not limited to the professors who are contributing to the List of Open PhD Positions.

Generally, each professor of Freie Universität Berlin could become your PhD supervisor and can join the FUB-CSC PhD Program later.

To find potential supervisors, you have to check the professor's individual research interests. A good starting point is the List of the Departments of Freie Universität. You can send an e-mail with the information on your research area to the resprective professor you want to become your supervisor. If the professor is interested in your academic background, please ask the Professor to issue an informal letter or e-mail saying that she/he will supervise you in case you receive the scholarship. Please fill in the online form and and upload the letter here too.

If you have any questions, please contact csc@international.fu-berlin.de 

It is not necessary to contact a professor before applying to the International Office of Freie Universität Berlin. The International Office will contact the professors you would like to work with anyhow and forward your application. This is part of the evaluation process. All decisions about the acceptance of individual candidates for a doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin are made by the potential supervisors in Berlin after they get your complete application via the International Office.

In terms of the number of available scholarships for full-time PhD study at Freie Universität Berlin, the FUB-CSC Program is certainly your best option.

Some of the structured doctoral programs and research training groups of Freie Universität Berlin have their own scholarship programs. These scholarships are given away on a competitive basis. Calls for applications are open to Germans as well as international applicants. Calls are published yearly, in the case of some programs only every 2 to 3 years. For information about these scholarship opportunities, see the homepages of the individual programs. A suitable starting point is the List of Graduate Schools and Research Training Groups at Freie Universität Berlin.

A research proposal is not a letter of motivation, or a personal statement. It should describe a potential research project you might like to carry out.

In the research plan we would like to read about your ideas for doing research under the supervision of the professor you would like to work with. In writing a research plan, we want you to demonstrate that you are sufficiently familiar with a subject area to develop scientifically sound ideas for doing research. Please keep in mind that your proposal has to fit into the professor's research interests. Your research plan should not exceed 5 pages in length. It is not necessary to submit the research plan to the professor for approval first. You should send it directly to the International Office of Freie Universität Berlin together with the other application documents.

You may apply. The requirements given here are not strictly binding. If you fulfil them, you should be "on the safe side." However, the individual professor may also accept you with a weaker language test result. The supervisor can confirm that the language skills are suffient after the interview was conducted.

If you want to apply for admission to one of the structured PhD programs (click here to see the list), you don't need to apply to the Beijing Office of Freie Universität Berlin.

You have to apply to the program you are interested in directly. In order to do this, you have to go to the homepage of the program first and check out their admission policy towards foreign PhD students coming with their own scholarship, i.e. in your case a CSC scholarship. Then you should write to the contact person of the respective program.

Freie Universität Berlin does not recognize the CET. The test is not known outside China. The CSC also requires an IELTS or TOEFL test.

If you have questions after having read the previous information, please contact Dr. Benjamin Langer from the International Office of FUB via e-mail: csc@international.fu-berlin.de